New Batting - Silky Wool

Cheryl, that sounds so wonderful. Do you dare ask if it is 'helper daddy' proof - as in toss in the wash with hot water and a cup of bleach? And don't ask why I wonder. Polly

"Cats" wrote > As you may have noticed in the past I am a BIG fan of wool

Being a firm believer in the Theory of Quilt Abuse (If it is bad for the quilt, the recipient of a gift quilt will - at some point - commit or permit such action) I plan to boil and bash a piece to see what happens. But I don't usually subject test pieces to bleach though . . . . LOL. Matilda's Own Wool blend (60/40 wool/poly) is about as close to indestructable as you can get so I have high hopes.

I have ordered some Silky Wool and asked for the spec's. I will post the results of the boiling/bashing activities when completed.

Apologies - the Silky Wool QS batt is on special at $60 each.

And they have wool/alpaca and wool/mohair blends too!!

Nah, our government is stupid too. We have to cope with all manner of trade restrctions and tariffs on stuff from Oz for various stupid political reasons. It is one of the reasons that wool is ridiculously expensive here. If you shop you can find a queen size 60/40 wool/poly queen batt for about US$40. I do believe that the way pricing on those runs that we end up paying about what you do, only in US$.

Of course the US$ has pretty much gone to crap. A cause of much wailing and gnashing of teeth at my house. Because my favorite boot shop in Shropshire is haveing a clearance sale. And at

18 pounds off the regular price, the boots I have been swooning over for ages are more expensive today than they were a year or so ago at the regular price.

NightMist

MMMMM!! Alpaca is so soft!! I can just imagine snuggling in that!!! z-z-z-z-z! Thanks for lettiing us know!!

I don't know how Matilda's wool washes,(I but Quilters' Dream has a wool that is just WONDERFUL... and it can be aundered etc.

gives the details... and remember... wool is more reistant to flame than cotton... ;-) I've always heard wonderful things about Matilda's Wool so I'll look forward to hearing about the new mixes too ;-)

Hobbs is coming out with a new Silk batting. From what I have read, it is another Harriet Hargrave tested and approved batt, bonded to make it easier to handle and retard bearding. Have always wanted to so something with a silk batting and may just have to plan something to use this one. I also like the hand and feel of the Hobbs wool batting.

Pati, > I don't know how Matilda's wool washes,(I but Quilters' Dream has a wool

The MO Silky Wool is needle punched rather than bonded - so soft!! Can't wait to get the other blends.

If anyone is really interested I might be persuaded to cut some sample pieces off whatever I buy. Depending on price I want to try one of each of the new blends. Sorry but as it is a bit pricy the pieces would have to be small - maybe only about 6-8" but enough to get the feel of the batt. I will post when they arrive.

The Batts are out tonight! (spooky music)

My silky wool, wool/mohair and wool/alpaca batts arrived (overnight delivery to here, free post within Oz for an order over a set value ($150?)) and they are all just gorgeous. Maree also sent me a sample of the wool/cotton blend and that is also very nice. I like it better than the wool/poly blend - much better drape.

The silky wool is just to die for. But at $112AUS for a QS (240X275cm) batt a bit pricey for everyday projects. However, as a batt that size would make maybe 4 or 6 small baby quilts I would consider them for special gifts. And if you take off the cost of a "normal" batt and then consider the additional cost as a proportion of the total cost of a quilt - well, not so terribly expensive really, just not for quilts to be dragged around on the floor by kids watching TV. I want to try it in some quilted jackets.

The wool/mohair seems to have a higher loft (haven't left one out to "rest" yet) and is very soft and light as you might expect from mohair. At $70AUS per QS batt it is not really that much more expensive that wool/poly and certainly more affordable than silky wool.

The wool/alpaca feels heavier and is possibly one of the warmest batts on the market. It has a denser feel to it but was easy to slide a needle through and is the same price as the wool/mohair. Again, haven't "rested" one yet but the loft seems about the same as wool/poly, maybe a tad higher.

I haven't used any of these yet, but I am looking forward to seeing what they are like to wash.

Maree at OzQuilts has been wonderful and if any of the Aussies/Kiwis are interested I can recommend the site highly - a new business that offers excellent service, knowledgable personal attention, and is willing to order in just about anything you could ask for absolutely NAYY

might have to search on "silky", "mohair" and "alpaca"to see the batts - she is still adding to the web site.Email queries are answered quickly. Postage might be an issue for "foreigners" but as the batting is not heavy you might like to try what we use Downunder. National pride aside, I would pick these batts against anything I have used in the past 30 years.

If anyone is seriously interested, email me. Forgive the seeming meanest of the offer but I only got one of each batt for myself so samples would be about 6" X 8" from a strip down one side.

Now all I have to do is convince Poddy, Boof and Donut (feline QIs) that the new batts have not been brought into the house as cat beds!!

They sound luscious, Cheryl! Maybe we'll get something similar here soon. :)